Pumping apparatus.



.1". o. GAIN. PUMPINGAPPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. 1902.

PATENTED AUG. 25, 1903.

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No. 737.336. l

' P; c. GAIN.

PUMPIN G APPARATUS. APPLICATION `FILED SEPT. 19. 1902. N0 MODEL. V f 2SHEETS-SHEET 2.,

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6 y La l il L55 D #a J] No. l737,333..

UNITED STATES intenten August 25, 1903.? c

y PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS CHARLES CAIN,AOF BEAUMONT, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF Y TOOSCAR' CHARLES HERRENKIND, OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS.

RUM-PING APPARATUS. I Y

45PIEIGIIEICAEL10N' forming part of Letters Patent N o. 237,336, datedAugust 25, 1903.

` Application filed` September 19,1902. Serial NovlZLOZ. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concermr Be it known that L'FRANcrs CHARLES C ArN,

a citizen of theUnited States,residing at Beaumont, in the county ofJefferson and State of' Texas, have invented a new and useful PumpingApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to. appara-tus for elevating liquids bymeans of vcompressed air, and is particularly intended for deepoilwells.. j

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means that is entirelyautomatic for alternately forcing the air into the pump-barrel andexhausting it therefrom to respectively raise the liquid to the top ofthe well and reiillv the barrel, this mechanism being so arranged thatit will perform the above operations with speed and precision and beingregulatable to the flow of the well. At the same time the air in itscompressed state is used over and over again, thus avoiding to a great.

extent the loss of power. A

Another object is to provide mechanism whereby la plurality of wells maybe operated by the air from a single compressor, each Well beingentirely independent of the others and separately governed to suit itsparticular flow. It is a wellknown fact that in pumping many wells theagitation of the liquid causes, the formation of gas, and very often thewell will iiow or gush.

Another and very important object of this invention is to providepumping mechanism which will not interfere with this natural operation,but will, in fact, assist it to a very great extent. l

-The preferred form of the apparatusfis fully As shown in thedrawings,the well is provided with the usual tubing 10, the upper end' beingclosed bythe head ll, to which is coupled a'pipe-line 12. In the lowerend of the well is placed a pump-barrel 13, that is of v` smallerdiameter than the tubing andlis preferably arranged concentric withinthe same. This barrel has the usual inlet 14 at its lower end,'which iscontrolled by the foot-valve, as 15. A liquidconveyer pipe A16, that isentirely separated from the tubing, leads from the lower portion of thebarrel 13 tothe top of the well, projecting through the head 11, asshown. This conveyer-pipe is also provided in its lower end with afoot-valve, as 17, which controls the inlet-opening 18 therein. Theupper end of the pipe is curved", as shown, and has its terminal formedinto a nozzle portion 19, which communicates with the pipeline through acoupling v2O at one side of the tubing, said nozzle portion beinglocated above and at an inclination to the pipe-line. A suitablecheck-valve A21 is located in the pipe-line between thepdischarge end ofthe liquid-conveyer pipe and the-well-tubing.

Arranged in convenient relation to the`well or wells is anair-compressor, (designated as a whole by the reference-numeral 422,)which compressor may be of any desired for wellknown construction.- Anair compression tank 23 is located adjacent to the compressor and isconnected to the high-pressure side of the `same by means of a suitablepipe, as 24. A vacuum-tank 25 is also located near the compressor and isconnected with the inlet of the Y compressor by means of a pipe 26,thisvacuumtank having a suitable inlet-valve, as 27, normally held closed,but arranged to-open when the pressure upon the. outside lexceedsgthatwithin at any amount desired; An air-supply pipe 28 leads from thecompression-tank, while an exhaust-pipe 29oleads'ffto the vacuumtank, asis clearly shown in Fig. v1.

Connected with the upper end of the pumpbarrel 13 is an air-conductingpipe 30, which IOO leads to the top of the well and has a suitablebranch 3l, connected by separate pipes 32 with the supply and exhaustpipes 28 and 29. The connection between the branch 3l and the pipes 32is in the form of a valve-casing 33, within which is rotatably mounted athreeway valve 34, having a passage-way 35 therein designed to alinewith the branch 3l and either of the pipes 32, said valve carrying anexteriorly-arranged crank-arm 3G. An aircylinder 37 has communication atone end with the cond ucting-pipe 30 through the medium of the pipes 38,the other end being open to the outer air. A plunger 39 is slidablymounted in the cylinder and carries a stem 40, thatis connected to thecrank-arm Vhen the plunger 39 is at the lower end of the cylinder 37,the conducting-pipe 30 will be in communication with the supply-pipe 28because of the position of the rotary valve 34, as indicated in Fig. 2.Said plunger is normally held in this depressed position by means of asuitable lock in the form of a latch 4l, that is pivoted intermediateits ends, the lower end bearing upon the free end of the crank-arm 36and being maintained in this position by a coiled spring 42. Journaleddirectly adjacent to the upper end of the latch is a rotatable disk 43,upon the periphery of which is a projection 44, arranged to engage theupper end of the latch 4l and move it out of engagement with thecrankarm 3G. The disk is rotated by means of a friction-wheel 45,attached to the end of a stem 46, that is longitudinally adjustable in ahollowshaft 47, journaled adjacentto the disk, said stem being held toturn with the shaft by means of a key 48, slidably mounted in a key-way49, formed in the shaft. The adjustment of the stem is obtained by meansof a nut 50, journaled upon the lower end of the shaft and having athreaded engagement, as shown at 5l, with the lower end of the stemwhich projects below the shaft, all of which is illustrated in Fig. 4. Asuitable countershaft 55, driven by any suitable power, has a beveledgear-wheel 56, which meshes with a similar wheel 57, attached to thelower end of the hollow shaft 49. The means for driving the shaft 55 isshown in the form of suitable belting and shafting 58 and 59, driven bythe compressor; but other means may be employed, if desired.

In Fig. l two sets of air-controlling means are shown. Both sets, itwill be noted, are separately connected to the supply and exhaust pipes28 and 29, each set being driven, however, from the counter-shaft 55.One of these sets is employed in connection with the well illustrated,and it will be understood that the other set is used in connection witha separate well.

The operation of the apparatus may probably be best described asfollows: rlhe compressor is in continuous operation, so that the tank 23wiil contain a supply of compressed air, (generally four to five hundredpounds pressure being employed,) while the vacuumtank 25 will contain apartial vacuum. Assuming the pump-barrel 13 illed with oil and theplunger 33 locked in its lowermost position by means of the latch 4l,-it will be seen that compressed air will pass from the supply-pipe 28through the Valve and to the airconducting pipe 30. This compressed airwill displace the oil within the barrel and raise it through theliquid-conveyer pipe 16, from which it will be discharged into thepipe-line 20. During this operation the disk 43 is being` revolved bymeans of the mechanism described, and the projection 44 will thereforebe brought periodically into contact with the upper end of the latch 4l.This contact will disengage said latch from the free end of thecrank-arm 36, and the compressed air in the air-conducting pipe 30 andthe pipes 38 will cause the plunger 39 to be elevated, thereby revolvingthe valve 34, and consequently cutting off the compressed air, while atthe same time opening communication between the branch 3l and theexhaust-pipe 29. As aresult the compressed air now contained in thepump-barrel will rush through the exhaustpipe into the vacuum-tank, thespeed being accelerated by the partial vacuum therein. This movementwill continue until the pressure of the airwithin the pipe 38 will fallbelow the pressure of the outer air, whereupon said greater outerpressure will cause the depression of the plunger 39. This movement willreturn the valve to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 5, and the spring42, connected to the latch, will again move the same to its operativeposition, for by this time the projection 44 has passed out of its Zoneof action. The speed at which the disk 43 rotates may be readily variedby adjusting the frictionwheel 45 toward or from the journal-axis ofsaid disk, and thus the periodicity of movement of the latch, andconsequently the valveoperating mechanism, can be varied to suit theiiow of the well. It will be observed that in operating a number ofwells, though all the disks are operated from a common shaft, their rateof speed is entirely in dependent and they will not interfere in action.In case the well should flow naturally or gush it will be seen byreference to Fig. l that the oil may freely pass outside the barrel tothe head and raising the valve 2l will [iow into the pipe-line. In likemanner if the pump should be in operation andthe agitation causedthereby should occasion the natural flow of the well the action of thepump will not be interfered with and it would assist said naturaloperation, for the oil discharging with great force from the nozzleportion 19 of the conveyer-pipe will cause a vacuum behind the same in amanner well understood, thereby assisting in the elevation of the oilthrough the well-tubing. It will thus be seen that an automatic systemis provided ,which is very simple in operation and will pump as rapidlyor as slowly as the well will permit. At the same time the poweremparatively small loss, (in the neighborhood of twentyvper cent.,) andis thus advantageous over those systems wherein compressed airisdischarged into the open air, so that its force is entirely lost afterit has performed the 'pumping operation. At the same time the apparatusdoes not interfere with the desirable gush of the well, and, asv alreadyshown, it assists in this operation.

The compression and vacuum chambers are of great utility, especially inconnection with this system, Where independent Wells of varyingcapacities are being independently pumped from one source of air-supply.This will be'understood when it is considered that the compressor iscontinuously in operation, withdrawing a determinate quantity of airfrom the vacuum-chamber and forcing it into the compression-chamberwhile the supply and exhausts are varied. At times there may vbe verylittle compressed air in use while a4 plurality of the pumps areexhausting, or the reverse may be true, the relative movements of thepumps all the time changing, as some operate faster than others,according to the capacity of the wells, as already explained. In eithercase, however, vthe chambers are of sufcient capacity to take care ofthe changing and sometimes abnormal conditions of supply and exhaust,the vacuum-chamber having sufficient area to supply considerable air tothe compressor and receive vconsiderable quantities of exhausted airwithout balancing the pressure of the supply.

' From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, andmany advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art Without furr ther description, and it will beunderstood that various' changes in the-size, shape, proportion, andminor details of construction may be resorted to without depart-ing fromthe spirit or sacriicing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecureby Letters Patent, is

l. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with aconducting pipe, of an air-supply and an air-exhaust havingcommunication with the conducting-pipe, means forV controllingl saidcommunication, operating mechanism for moving the controlling means,

and alock for holding the operating mechanling means, and anautomatically-operatedlock for holding the air-controlled mechanismagainst movement. l

3. In apparatus of the class described, the

combination with a conducting pipe, of an air-supply and an air-exhausthaving communication with the conducting-pipe, means for controllingsaid communication, operating mechanism for moving the controllingmeans, a lock for holding the operating mechanism against movement, andmeans for periodically operating the lock.

4. In apparatus of the class described, the

combination with a conducting-pipe, of an l air-supply and anair-exhaust having communication with a conducting-pipe, means forcontrolling said communication, operating mechanism for moving thecontrolling means, a pivoted latch arranged to engage the operatingmechanism to hold the same against movement, and means for automaticallymoving the latch to an inoperative position.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with aconductingpipe, of an air-supply and an air-exhaust having communicationwith a conducting-pipe, means for controlling said communication,operating mechanism for moving the controlling means,

a pivoted latch arranged to engage the operating mechanism to hold thesame against movement, means for automatically moving the latch to aninoperative position,and means for returning. said latch to itsoperative position.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with aconducting pipe, of an air-supply and an air-exhaust havingcommunication with the conducting-pipe, means for controlling saidcommunication, air controlled operating mechanism connected with theconducting-pipe for moving the controlling means, a pivoted latcharranged to engage the operating mechanism to hold the same againstmovement, means for periodically moving the latch to' an inoperativeposition, and a spring for returning said latch to its operativeposition. y

7. In apparatus of the class described, the

IOO

lor.

IIO

combination withl a conducting-pipe, of an air-supply and an air-exhausthaving communication with the conducting-pipe, means for controllingsaid communication,operating mechanism for movingthe controlling means,

apivoted latch arranged to engage theoperat- I ing mechanism to hold thesame against movement, and a rotatable member arranged to periodicallyengage the latch to move it to an inoperative position.

8. In apparatus of the class described, the

munication with the conducting-pipe, means for controlling saidcommunication, oper- .combination with a conducting-pipe, ofv an'air-supply and an air-exhaust having comating mechanism for moving the'controlling l means, a pivoted latch arranged to engage the operatingmechanism to hold the same against movement, and a rotatable disk havingan eccentric projection arranged -to'periodically engage the latch tomove it to an inoperative position.

9. In apparatus of the-class described, the

combination with compressed-air elevating means, of a conducting-pipeleading thereto, an air-supply and an air-exhaust communicating with theconducting-pipe, means for controlling the communication, and mechanismfor periodically moving the controlling means, said mechanism beingadjustable to vary the periodicity of movement of said controllingmeans.

10. In apparatus of the class described, the combination withcompressed-air elevating means, of a conducting-pipe leading thereto, anair-supply and an air-exhaust communieating with the conducting-pipe,means for controlling the communication, operating mechanism for movingthe controlling means, 'a lock for holding the operating mechanisminactive, and automatic. means for periodically actuating the lock, saidactuating means being adjustable to vary the periodicity of movement ofsaid controlling means.

1l. In apparatus of the class described, the combination Withcompressed-air elevating means, of a conducting-pipe leading thereto, anair-supply and an air-exhaust communicating with the conducting-pipe,means for controlling the communication, operating mechanism formovingthe controlling means, a lock for holding the operating mechanisminactive, and automatic means for periodically actuating the lock, saidmeans including a rotatable disk and an operating-Wheel frictionallyengaging the disk.

12. In apparatus of the class described, the

.combination with compressed-air elevating means, of a conducting-pipeleading thereto, an air-supply and an air-exhaust communicating with theconducting-pipe, means for controlling the communication, operatingmechanism for moving the controlling means,

a lock for holding the operating mechanism inactive, and automatic meansfor periodically actuating the lock, said means including a rotatabledisk and an operating-Wheel frictionally engaging the disk andadjustable toward and from the journal-axisv of said disk.

i3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination withcompressed-air elevating means, of an air-supply and an air-exhaustcommunicating with the elevating means, means for controlling thecommunication, operating mechanism for moving the controlling means, alock for holding the operating mechanism inactive, and automatic meansfor periodically actuating the lock, said means including a rotatabledisk, a hollow shaft arranged at one side of the disk, and a stemslidably mounted in the shaft and carrying an operating-wheel thatfrictionally engages the disk` 14. In apparatus of the class described,the combination with compressed-air elevating means, of an air-supplyand an air-exhaust communicating with the elevating means, means forcontrolling the communication, op-

names erating mechanism for moving` the controlling means, a lock forholding the operating mechanism inactive, and automatic means forperiodically actuating the lock, said means including a rotatable disk,a hollow shaft arranged at one side of the disk, a stem slidably mountedin the shaft and carrying an operating-wheel that frictionally engagesthe disk, and a nut journaled upon the shaft and having a threadedengagement with the stem.

15. In apparatus of the class described, the combination withcompressed-air elevating means, of an air-supply and an air-exhaustcommunicating therewith, means for controlling the communication, anair-cylinder having air communication with the elevating means, aplunger in the cylinder connected to the said controlling means for thesupply and exhaust and actuated by the compressed air in the elevatingmea-ns, and a lock arranged to hold the plunger against movement.

1U. In apparatus of the class described, the

' combination with compressed-air elevating means, of an air-supply andan air-exhaust communicating therewith, means for controlling thecommunication, an air-cylinder having an air communication at one sideWith the elevating means and having the other sidein communication withthe open air, a plunger in the cylinder connected to the controllingmeans for the supply and exhaust and actuated by the compressed air inthe elevating means, and a lock arranged to hold the plunger againstmovement.

17. In apparatus of the class described, the combination Withcompressed-air elevating Ameans, of an air-supply and an air-exhaustcommunicating therewith, means for controlling the communication, anair-cylinder having an air communication at one side with the elevatingmeans and having the other side in communication With the open air,aplunger in the cylinder connected to the controlling means for thesupply and exhaust and actuated by the compressed air of the elevatingmeans, a lock arranged to hold the plunger against movement, andmechanism for operating the lock t'o release the plunger.

18. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with anair-compressor, of a compression -chamber and a vacunmchambercommunicating respectively with the high and low pressure sides of thecompressor, a supply-pipe leading from the compression-chamber, anexhaust-pipe leading to the vacuumchamber, a plurality Vofcompressed-air elevating mechanisms, each including a conducting-pipeindependently communicating with both the supply and exhaust pipes, andindependent valves for controlling the communication of eachconducting-pipe.

I9. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with theWell-tubing, of abarrel located therein and of less diameter than thesame, a pipe-line in communication with the upper end of theWell-tubing, and a separate lOO IIS

conveyer-pipe leading from the barrel to the upper end of the Well andcommunicating with the pipe-line.

20. In apparatus ofthe class described, the combination with theWell-tubing, ofabarrel located therein and of less diameter than thesame, a pipe-line in communication with thev upper end of theWell-tubing, and a separate conveyer-pipe leading from the barrel to theupper end of the Well and having a nozzle portion at its upper end thatcommunicates With the pipe-line and is located at an inclination to thelatter.

21. In apparatus of the class described, thecombination with theWell-tubing, of a barrel located therein and of less diameter than the.same, a pipe-line in communication With the upper end of theWell-tubing, a separate conveyer-pipe leading from the barrel to theup-v per end of the Well and communicating with the pipe-line at oneside of the tubing, and a valve located in the pipe-line and interposedbetween. the upper end of the conveyer and the Well-tubing. l

23. In apparatus of the class described, the

combination withthe Well-tubing, of a barrel located therein and of lessdiameter than the same, a pipe-line in communication with the upperendof the Well-tubing, a separate conveyer-pipe leading from the barrel tothe upper end of the Well and communicating with the pipe-line, and acheck-valve located in said line.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in l the presence of two Witnesses.

FRANCIS CHARLES GAIN.

Witnesses:

J .,Wmss, ROBERT STEINER.

